Awakened
by Mossnose
Summary: After 17 months of silent solitude, a familiar presence finally wakes from his long sleep.


A/N: This one-shot idea, like so many others, just came to me randomly. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas.

**Awakened**

_Where… am I?_

He'd started regaining awareness just a few seconds ago, and so many questions were starting to run through his mind. How had he gotten here? What had happened to him? He was even beginning to have trouble recalling his own name. He let out a yawn as he thought about his predicament.

_What's going on here? Why are my memories all jumbled up?_

His head hurt, and he began to become aware of an odd feeling in his body. He felt… tired, for lack of a better word. It almost felt like he'd fallen asleep for a long time, and was only just now waking up. Why had he been sleeping here? He opened his blue eyes, sleepily attempting to take a better look at his surroundings. He was surrounded by water, which felt extremely uncomfortable. It looked almost like he was in a small town, but it was completely sideways.

_This place is… my home. I know that much. I know I've been sleeping here for a long time._

He tried to stand, but he was still too tired and fell back onto his backside. What had woken him? It almost felt like someone had been calling him, trying to wake him. But there was no one else around. He ran a hand through his short, black hair, trying to put things together. He knew that there was something he needed to do; someone he needed to protect. But who?

He took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. It would probably help him think straight and put the pieces back together more effectively. With every second that passed, the pieces started to align themselves in his mind.

"That's right," he mumbled to himself, his memories starting to come back to him. They must have just been a bit scrambled because of his long nap. "My name is… Tensa Zangetsu. I'm a Zanpakuto, and my master's name is… Ichigo!"

Right; _now_ he remembered! He'd passed out after Ichigo had used the Final Getsuga Tenshou on Aizen, which had caused him to lose all of his powers. How long had he been like this for? That didn't matter; if he was awake, that meant that Ichigo was probably fighting. Zangetsu didn't care anymore about what he remembered; he had to check if his master was okay.

_What I wanted to protect… was you, Ichigo._

"_Ichigo, can you hear me?" _he called. It was silent for a moment, and he feared that something bad had happened.

"**Yo.**" He breathed a sigh of relief, the sound of his master's voice assuring him that nothing was wrong. "**About time you woke up.**"

"_You're the one who used the Final Getuga Tenshou, not me. I'm not to blame for what happened. What's happening now?_" he asked.

"**Sweet, sweet payback, Zangetsu,**" Ichigo answered. Zangetsu could almost feel the smirk on his master's face. "**The despair is finally gone. These past 17 months have been pretty lonely without you around. I even kinda miss the Hollow. Is he there?**"

Zangetsu faltered. "_I haven't seen him. Then again, I just woke up. I could look around for him if you'd like._"

"**Go ahead if you want.**"

Nodding even though no one could see, he stood up and started searching for the Hollow's reiatsu. He frowned in confusion; he could sense it, but it didn't seem to come from any definite location. It was almost like he was everywhere at once. That wasn't possible; even the Hollow didn't have that kind of power.

_Wait a minute… _Before Ichigo had used the Final Getsuga Tenshou, he'd had to fight them when they were merged together. If he was correct, then… Gingerly, he reached his senses within his own body, feeling for the Hollow. Sure enough, he could feel the familiar reiatsu at its strongest there. "_Hey. Wake up,_" he called, trying to get his attention.

_Five more minutes…_ He almost smiled. He was there, and he was still alive. The Hollow was just asleep like he had been a short time ago. But at the moment, he didn't feel comfortable having him in his body like that. He focused hard, gently separating the Hollow's reiatsu from his own.

Within a few moments, the Hollow lay on the surface of the building in front of Zangetsu, sleeping still. He looked much less dangerous when he was asleep like that; almost peaceful. Smirking slightly, he nudged the sleeping Hollow with his foot, keeping a hand on his chest to keep him from floating away in the water… again. "Hey. I said wake up."

"Go 'way," he mumbled, turning over in his sleep.

"Ichigo's fighting right now. I'd thought you'd want to be awake for this."

The familiar yellow eyes opened, and the Hollow yawned. "Wassat?" he asked, still slightly disoriented. "Was goin' on?"

"Snap out of it. You've been asleep for 17 months. I think you've had a long enough naptime," he commented.

"17… months? Wait a minute…" The Hollow started rubbing his white forehead, trying to focus through the remaining sleepiness. "What happened?"

"Focus. Try to remember. It took me a while, but I got it," he said patiently.

The Hollow's eyes widened with realization. "Ichigo! I'm gonna kill that idiot for pulling such a stupid move!" he snapped.

"Good to have you back," the Zanpakuto sighed, managing a smile.

"How come you're not pissed? Wait, why am I even asking that? You're never pissed!"

"Oh believe me, I can get 'pissed' as you so politely termed it. I just don't tend to make it as obvious as you do," he sighed. "And to answer your question, I actually was pretty angry at him for using that technique even after he knew what it would do to him. But he had his reasons; I can't blame him for that."

The Hollow turned onto his back, looking up at the sky through the water. "I guess," he mumbled. "Hey, if I were him, I'd want to kill that Aizen guy too."

Zangetsu raised an eyebrow. "Probably with no regards as to how I'd feel about it. You'd probably use it without hesitation the second you figured out how to do it."

"I'm not stupid; I'd time it just right, _then _use it."

"**Could you two stop arguing for a moment? I'm kinda fighting for my life here!**" Ichigo yelled.

"_Get in here right now! I need to pay you back for what you did!_" the Hollow snapped back.

"**Later, when I'm not risking my life to kill the guy who played me like an idiot and threatened my family!**"

"_Not like that takes much effort…_"

"_Knock it off, both of you. Go back to your fight, Ichigo. And try not to get yourself nearly killed this time._"

"**What, do you think I've gotten weaker while you've been gone? I've been staying in shape. It shouldn't take me too long to win this fight.**"

The Hollow managed a smirk. "_Good. Trust your instincts. Just holler if you need me!_"

"**Thanks for the offer.**"

The Hollow began to laugh as soon as they couldn't feel Ichigo's presence close to them anymore. "That idiot. He's going to screw up somehow. He's so busy protecting others, he never protects himself. And it'll be awkward for me if he goes kaput."

"Exactly. I'm glad we can actually agree on something," Zangetsu said with a slight nod. "But that's our job. We'll protect him when he cannot."

"Yeah." A moment of silent understanding passed between the two, until…

"Hey, when do you think he's gonna get rid of all this water?"

"It should drain on its own now that he's not sulking all the time."

"How long's that gonna take?"

"Who knows? With this much water in here, maybe a month."

"A month? So I've gotta go another month without my porn?"

"…You read porn?"

"Why do you _think _Ichigo keeps getting nervous around sexy women?"

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><p>AN: Please R&R!


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